(March 16, 2012) Washington - This afternoon, RFA President and CEO Bob Dinneen will participate on a panel, The Future of Transportation Fuels, from 1:00pm-3:45pm EST as a part of the 2012 MIT Energy Conference in Cambridge, MA.

The production and use of U.S. ethanol has contributed significantly to the reduction of our foreign oil dependence. In 2011, the use of 13.9 billion gallons of American ethanol helped reduce the need for imported oil by 485 million barrels. That is roughly equivalent to 13% of total U.S. crude oil imports, saving the American economy $49.7 billion.  

“Our nation’s reliance on foreign oil imports is continuing to decrease because of ethanol,” said RFA President and CEO Bob Dinneen. “Since 2005, the year the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) was first enacted, America’s oil demand has decreased and national oil import dependence has fallen from 60% to 45%. In 2010, U.S. oil imports fell below 50% for the first time since 1997. Without ethanol, without the foundation of the RFS, our oil imports would have been 52% last year. Maintaining critical policies like the RFS is essential to increasing our national energy security.”

While gasoline demand is currently at its lowest point in more than a decade, prices at the pump continue to run-up due to the increasing costs of barrels of crude oil. Nevertheless, prices of gasoline would be undoubtedly higher without the enormous contribution of ethanol in our fuel.  A study by Iowa State University and the University of Wisconsin found that in 2010, domestic ethanol production helped keep gasoline prices $0.89 lower per gallon than they otherwise would have been. American-produced ethanol now constitutes 10% of our nation’s gasoline supply, and it is the only energy source available today that can meaningfully keep gasoline prices in check.

The RFA has developed a brochure, Oil Dependence: A National Threat, which features quotations from high ranking U.S. officials emphasizing the threat of our dependence on foreign oil with explanations and charts to prove ethanol’s success in reducing our reliance on petroleum. View the brochure on Ethanol and National Security here. 

View Dinneen’s presentation here.